Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
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news
Teachers’ Challenge of Political Spending by Unions Appears Headed for Supreme Court
Christian schoolteachers who object to being forced to help finance the political agendas of unions yesterday moved a step closer to having their case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued an order that allows the teachers to petition the Supreme Court to consider their… -
news
Minnesota School Boards Can–and Often Do–Raise Taxes Without Voter Approval
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesotans faced 39 school operating levy referendums on the ballot this fall, fewer than in any election since 1996. And they nixed one of every four proposals at the polls. Chalk one up for taxpayers? Not exactly. Many school boards already had raised school levies on their own long before Election… -
news
Study: Kids Don’t Eat Much of Healthy School Lunches
Healthier lunches have become available in schools across the nation. But students aren’t eating them. According to a new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study, “Nearly 6 in 10 [students] put a vegetable on their tray, but only a quarter actually eat even a single bite.” The researchers observed the eating habits of… -
news
Maryland School District Removes Religious Holidays From Its Calendar
A school board in Maryland this week voted to remove the names of Christian, Jewish and Muslim holidays from its school calendar. According to the Washington Times, the Montgomery County Public Schools “still will be closed on the holidays, but the board voted 7-1 to move the religious references from the calendar.” The newspaper reports the Montgomery County Board… -
news
Mom Questions School for Portraying Muslims as More Faithful Than Christians
Is the faith of most Muslims “stronger” than that of the typical Christian? That’s what one public high school in North Carolina apparently is teaching students. Outraged over the “correct” answers to her son’s ninth-grade assignment about Islam, a mother in Union County, N.C., turned to local news reporters to shed light on his school’s… -
news
High School Bans Students From Holding Prayer Group in Free Time
A Colorado high school banned a group of students from praying, singing Christian songs, and discussing religious topics in their free time. Citing “separation of church and state,” officials at Pine Creek High School told Chase Windebank, a senior, that he and his classmates no longer were allowed to use an unoccupied choir room for… -
news
Groups Ask School Districts to Reconsider Transgender Restroom Policies
MADISON, Wis. — Sparta Area School District Superintendent John Hendricks has had little to say about his proposal to allow transgender students to use school restrooms of the gender with which they identify. When asked why he proposed gender identity guidelines for his district, Hendricks said only that he thinks “it’s always advisable for an… -
opinion
School Choice Wins, Common Core Loses in Election 2014
Last night’s election results have seismic implications for education policy at both the state and federal levels. Voters sent a message that school choice and local control are important to them. School Choice Wins Big Charlie Crist, running as a Democrat, lost his election bid for Florida governor to incumbent Republican Rick Scott. Crist supported… -
opinion
Toronto School Board Nixes Confucius Institute
Last week, the Toronto school board became the latest in a series of North American educational institutions to eject the Chinese government from its classrooms. The board voted decisively to terminate an agreement to open a Confucius Institute in Toronto. This would have provided instruction in matters Chinese to the city’s elementary school students—all courtesy… -
news
Hawaii Taxpayers Would Spend Millions on Private Preschools if Amendment Passes
HONOLULU — Hawaii is the only state that prohibits government funding of private preschools, but that may change tomorrow. Hawaii’s voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be amended so taxpayers can subsidize private preschool education. Amendment 4, “The Hawaii State Funding for Private Early Childhood Education Programs,” asks: “Shall the appropriation of… -
news
Teachers Unions Devote Dues to Democratic Political Advertising
In the final weeks of a heated governor’s race, Pennsylvania’s teachers unions have made their candidate preferences well known. For the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, one of the most powerful public-sector unions in the country, this has gone beyond the traditional activities of its political committee, raising some questions about how the union uses money collected… -
news
‘Never Discouraged’: Pro-Democracy Newspaperman Joins Hong Kong Student Protesters
In mid-October, during the peak of the democracy protests in Hong Kong, decidedly different demonstrators congregated outside the printing plant of Next Media, publisher of the Apple Daily newspaper. These demonstrators called for the fall of Jimmy Lai, the outspoken founder of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper despised by the ruling establishment in Hong Kong and… -
news
Is an Ohio School District Using Public Money to Campaign?
Brad Reynolds received a text message, Oct. 24, from Maumee City Schools: “Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser tonight at Maumee High School. 5 – 6:30. $6 adults. $4 seniors/students. Students performing throughout” The text came from the School Messenger alert system — the one that’s supposed to be used to notify parents of an emergency or about… -
opinion
These Studies Found Exposure to the Arts Boosted Educational Success
New research into humanities education suggests student learning outcomes increase with exposure to the arts. Few empirical studies have been conducted on the benefits of arts education for students. Jay Greene, endowed chair of the Department of Education at the University of Arkansas, and his team have released two studies on the educational benefits of… -
opinion
Majority of Delawareans Support Education Savings Accounts
A majority of Delawareans support education savings accounts (ESAs), according to a new study released by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. The study used a randomly selected sample of Delaware voters to measure public opinion on a variety of education-related issues, including the direction of K–12 education, education spending, school choice options, and standardized… -
news
See the Picture of a Skimpy School Lunch That One Parent Called ‘Ridiculous’
An Oklahoma student has sparked outrage about federal school lunch guidelines after taking a picture of her meager lunch. Kaytlin Shelton’s lunch consisted of a few slices of lunch meat, a slice of cheese, two small packages of crackers and two pieces of cauliflower. The lunch is particularly small for Shelton, 17, who is eight… -
opinion
This Little Girl With Down Syndrome Was Stuck in a Horrible School Situation. How a New Policy Changed Her Life Completely.
“When I would pick her up almost every evening, she would wait until she got into the car and she would just start weeping.” That’s what Veronica, mother of Salima, who has Down syndrome, says in a powerful video about her daughter’s experience at her assigned public school. But thanks to a fairly new school… -
news
Where’s the Beef? You Won’t Find Any on ‘Meatless Mondays’ in This School District
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Students attending Sarasota County public schools might be wondering, “Where’s the beef?” The answer won’t be found between two buns, at least not on Mondays. Sarasota County Schools kicked off a Meatless Monday campaign last week, nixing traditional protein-packed food items for vegetarian substitutes. The program is part of “a popular international movement … to promote… -
news
For Second Time, High School Forced to Reverse Ban on Christian Student Group
High school students in Long Island, N.Y., were recently denied the right to establish a club for Christian students by their school administrators. This marks the second time they’ve run into trouble. Last year, John Raney, a 17-year-old student at Ward Melville High School, created Students United in Faith as an extracurricular club where Christian… -
opinion
Education Savings Accounts Are the Next Generation of School Choice
“A blind student in Arizona gets about $21,000 a year,” says Marc Ashton, whose son, Max, is legally blind. That $21,000 represents what Arizona spends to educate a student such as Max in the public-school system. “We took our 90 percent of that, paid for Max to get the best education in Arizona, plus all…